NEWS
Texas’ aging infrastructure poses many challenges
(AUSTIN) — In the latest issue of Fiscal Notes, released today, the Texas Comptroller’s office examines Texas state government’s aging information technology (IT) infrastructure, and the challenges it faces in serving a population growing by nearly half a million residents a year.
The state spends more than $300 million annually on maintaining legacy systems — hardware and software so old they are no longer supported by their makers — according to a Texas Department of Information Resources estimate.
“Texas agencies have a lot of IT assets that are aging, some of them running on archaic programming language dating back to the 1950s,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “Each year, the state spends hundreds of millions of dollars on maintaining these outdated systems, and updating or replacing them would cost even more.”
The December-January issue of Fiscal Notes also examines a major new IT-related project spearheaded by the Comptroller’s office — the Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System, or CAPPS. This project will replace the state’s main automated business applications for financial reporting and human resources.
Fiscal Notes is available online and also can be received by subscribing via the Comptroller’s website.
Fiscal Notes helps promote and further explain the Comptroller’s constitutional responsibility to monitor the state’s economy and estimate state government revenues. It has been published since 1975, featuring in-depth
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
The 2026 certified property values for Montague County were released to the 16 taxing entities for which it sets values and for Montague County the total numbers were up 3.591%.
With the arrival of these numbers, the taxing entities can begin serious work on creating their budgets and proposed tax rates. Last year the Montague County Tax Appraisal District had to create two sets of values pending the November homestead election so they were happy things were back to just one set.
Certified values are based on property sales made as of Jan. 1, 2026. Chief Appraiser Kim Haralson said the values held up well during the protest hearings, and while minerals went down some there were a lot of new properties added.
New taxable property totaled $87,505,775 for 1,208 properties. Haralson said people appear to be setting up manufactured homes on some of the two-acre tract subdivision and other subdivisions are seeing people start to build houses.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
It is going to be a tough budget season for the Bowie City Council as it works through a draft budget proposal that tries to figure out how to pay for major projects and maintain present operations for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
As per the city charter, City Manager Bert Cunningham presented the budget proposal to the council on July 14, emphasizing without the final certified property values, as well as the final health insurance rates, it truly is a draft. The city staff also await the final bid numbers for the Rock and Pillar drainage project hovering around $2 million with plans to fund it through the budget.
A budget workshop was scheduled for 6 p.m. on July 27 with a public hearing to follow on Aug. 11.
Cunningham said the certified figures may become available by the end of the week, but that is uncertain. Two months ago the city’s preliminary values were up $70,530,035 from the 2025 final values, however, usually the certified values fluctuate slightly from the preliminary numbers, which totaled $497,939,568.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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